


Talk

by Ajju



Category: MapleStory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-10 01:36:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20127211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ajju/pseuds/Ajju
Summary: Ark patrols the streets of Seoul and runs into Kinesis...!?





	Talk

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OrigamiRiver](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrigamiRiver/gifts).

Ark peered over Seoul from Jay's room. It was an ungodly hour, yet the city was brightly illuminated. Colorful lights spread all across below; the night life was very lively.

_It looks peaceful...  
_

Ark didn't feel satisfied just passively looking from afar. He wanted to take action. Among the Grandis Crew, only he and Illium were forced to stay behind while the others went out to investigate reportings of specter-like creatures.

He remembered Jay discussing it over with everyone, "Hmm, well the others could pass off as cosplayers. Ark and Illium could too, but that's a little bit of a stretch. We shouldn't take the chance. If the situation gets dire, then we won't have a choice, but for now, stay here."

The planned the FriendStory expedition to coincide during the time of a convention, so as to not arouse large suspicion.

He understood and agreed with the decision, but it didn't sit right with him. He felt the need to be proactive in matters dealing with the High Lef, it was his self-imposed requirement for penance.

The crew returned that day, not having found anything suspicious. They would only have three more days until they had to go back and wait for another convention to happen. Ark was afraid of the situation potentially getting worse during that time. He wanted to deal with it as soon as possible. The less people that suffer, the better.

Ark turned back to look at everyone. They were sleeping after an exhausting day.

_I'll slip out, just for a little bit. If it's night, there shouldn't be many people around._

He maneuvered around everyone, careful not to accidentally step on anyone. He was especially weary of Ho Young. That guy has terrible sleeping habits, sprawled all about, what if he stepped on his tail?

It was stressful, but having successfully made it to the door quietly, he closed it, making a _click_ sound.

When Ark walked outside, he felt the cold air smack him in the face. He looked up at the night sky, devoid of stars and other celestial bodies. The only thing visible was the moon. It was as though a black tarp had shrouded over the sky. It felt unnatural.

Ark turned to look back at the building he had just exited, then went onward to explore the streets of Seoul.

He looked around and saw that the streetlights were abundant. Spaced evenly apart, they glowed a bright, piercing white, and sometimes had a low hum. _Do they build these lights because they do not have crystals or stars?_

He saw a rectangular box that was illuminated from the inside. He walked up to it, and saw that it was neatly organized with bottles inside. _I've seen these in Maple World! They are... vending machines? I think I saw them in Kerning Square._ _So Maple World and Friend Story__ have these._ _I never saw any of these in Grandis. Are Maple World and Friend Story more alike than they are to Grandis?  
_

Ark observed the late night food stalls and trucks. It smelled wonderful and appetized Ark, he could feel his mouth salivating. He saw people in line at the trucks and stalls. At the restaurants nearby, there were people seated outside, laughing loudly as they drank their shots.

He walked passed two men, walking with their arms over each other's shoulders. Well, one was walking, the other had an unsteady gait.

"Don't give up on me! We're almost - almost there! Stay with me now." You could hear the struggle in his voice. "Please, just work with me!"

"It's not time to go home yet!"

"Ugh, we're not drinking together for awhile."

When they saw Ark, they looked at him. The sober man said, "Cool cosplay. Probably won first place."

The drunk man gave a thumbs up.

"Thank you." Ark smiled, though he didn't quite understand. He just replied as he had been instructed to in this situation.

"I haven't seen that character before."

"Yeah, where are you from?"

_Please don't ask me these questions...  
_

The drunk man started dry heaving, to which the sober man said "Wait, wait, wait, stop! Don't get it on our shoes!" He turned him to face the grass.

"I'm good - I'm good, but we should - we should get home quick."

"Have a good night." The sober man said to Ark.

"Thanks, you too."

Ark felt relieved that he wouldn't have to continue that conversation, but he felt that it was a pity. They seemed like nice people. How would the conversation have gone if it went further?

Aside from the occasional pedestrian, these were the only instances of people he had seen.

He kept walking, keeping an eye out for anything that seemed suspicious.

After some time ambling about, he took a seat on a bench as he reached a park.

_Everything seems really peaceful so far. Nothing was out of the ordinary, nor did I get any calling from Specter._

He understood why they came up with no leads today. He slumped in the bench and tilted his head upwards toward the sky.

_This is the second world I've crossed over to._ _I never would've thought that I'd come this far. If I could go back to tell you, what would you say? Would you call me crazy?  
_

Ark hadn't meet with many people, but he had received the same vibe from the people of FriendStory as he did from those of Maple World_._

_It's different, but many things are also the same. The people here live differently than us, and are very different from us. No wings, round ears again, and I don't believe that they have magic? I haven't seen any crystals. But they're people just like in Maple World, just like us. People trying to live their lives_.

_... Will you destroy this too?_

Ark felt himself engaging in a bad thought cycle, so he decided to drop his thoughts there and focus on the sounds at present.

He closed his eyes and processed and noted everything he heard:

He heard the sound of his breathing, the chirps of the crickets, the sound of the street lights buzzing, the occasional car driving by, the wind blowing,

The rustling the leaves on the trees,

_Come to think of it, there are trees in Grandis, Maple World, and Friend_ Story. His mind started wandering._ Along with the people, that's a similarity they all share. Maple World had deserts, snow, rain, all sorts of weather and climates. I wonder if FriendStory is the same? The night is pretty nice right now too. It's cool, but not too cold, just like late nights back at home during -"  
_

Suddenly, he saw Kinesis' face above his. "What are you doing?"

"Huh?" Ark sat up right, and turned around to look at Kinesis. "How did you know I was out?"

_I didn't even hear him!_

"I heard you leave."

"You're wearing - what about your uniform?"

Kinesis was wearing magician attire from Maplestory. It was what he walked out with when he went to investigate with Ho Young, Cadena, Kaiser, and Angelic Buster, in order to help them blend in. When he came back, he slipped back into his signature uniform.

"I had to wear this because a certain someone snuck out late at night."

"Sorry..." His ears drooped.

"So, why are you out?"

"I wanted to investigate."

"Did you find anything."

"No, not a thing. Seoul feels really peaceful, I-"

Ark's stomach growled loudly. It stopped him in the middle of his sentence. He felt embarrassed as he looked at Kinesis' blank face, but before he could get a word out to try and defuse the situation, Kinesis smiled and said, "Hungry?"

Ark couldn't lie about it. He was defeated, and with shame, replied, "... Yeah..."

"You should have said something."

"I wasn't really thinking about it. I'm used to starving."

Kinesis looked at Ark. _That's an odd thing to say..._ He figured it as a strange use of words, and dropped that thought there. "There aren't many options at this time, but I know a pretty good food truck nearby."

They walked back to the place where Ark had observed the food stalls and restaurants. Ark could feel the excitement well as he thought about how wonderful it smelled.

"Do you have anything you want in particular?" Kinesis pulled out his wallet.

"Huh? Oh, it's okay I can pay -"

Kinesis brought his index finger to Ark's mouth, leaving it just shy of touching it. "Say no more. Tell me what you want."

"Uhh, well, I don't know what kind of food is here. Order what you think is good."

After receiving the food, they sat down. Ark looked at the food. It wasn't anything like he knew back in Grandis. He took a chicken skewer up to his mouth and ate a piece. A smile spread ear to ear.

"Good, right?"

"Yeah, thanks a lot!!" His voice was brimming with excitement.

Seeing Ark so happy made Kinesis smile. It was a contagious energy. _He looks super happy. The food must be really good to him_. "Don't forget to try the corn dog and the soup too."

Ark tried to be graceful while eating, but being too eager to eat more, was a little sloppy in manner. The spices and sauce from the skewers and corn dog got on his face.

_That's a little cute._ Kinesis thought to himself. _He looks like a kitten who got a little too excited about the wet food._ He handed Ark a napkin.

"Thanks! Hey, will you tell me about Seoul?" Ark asked.

_That's a broad question._ "What do you want to know about it?" Kinesis replied.

"Anything, really. What the people are like? The lifestyle, the culture? What's FriendStory like?"

"That's a broad question. For students, we spend a lot of our time studying, trying to get into uni."

"Uni?"

'Universities. They're institutions for research. Students apply to attend and learn. They shape their futures here, so for a lot of us, it's important to work hard for a better future. It's an investment to become someone in the future, for many."

"Oooh, it was like that in Grandis too. For the smarter and stronger people, they had the option to study hard to become scholars. It was a really esteemed position-- Ah, sorry, please go on."

"Unlike Maple World, most people don't go out and hunt for their goods. We do have 'monsters,' but we don't go out adventuring and leveling skills. Instead of that, a lot of our resources come from farming and other things. There are some people who go out hunting for their living, but it's not the norm in Seoul, or many places anymore. The history behind how we got to where we are is a little long."

"And you guys didn't originally have magic?"

"Not originally, as far as I know."

"Then how...?"

Kinesis thought about it for a bit. Agitation and annoyance began to manifest on his face.

"It's alright if you don't want to talk about it!!" Ark, seeing that he hit an uncomfortable topic, tried to backpedal.

"No it's alright. I'm just annoyed with myself." He sighed. "The Black Mage has an alternate self that opened a portal connecting FriendStory and Maple World."

"What? 'The' Black Mage?"

'Yeah." Kinesis was curt. "When the portal opened, it caused a massive sinkhole in Seoul. That was also the birth of my ESP. As time goes on, FriendStory will continue to merge with Maple World, and more people will gain powers. Yuna herself can control wind. As for that version of the Black Mage..." Kinesis grit his teeth, "He hasn't been seen since."

_I should've done whatever I could to get him at that time..._ Kinesis furrowed his eyebrows.

"Then you're saying there are two threats to look out for!? Why wasn't this mentioned in the report?"

"The sightings were of specter-like monsters from the company, but we can't confirm anything more. Since you said that Darmoor has been raising specters, that was the first suspicion. It was considered that he might be a factor, but we don't know what's happened with that since we defeated the Black Mage in Maple World, so his threat level dropped."

"I see." Now, Ark too felt sullen. He looked at his food as he took in the information. He looked back at Kinesis and said, "Tomorrow, I want to come with you guys."

"Denied. I don't mean to call you out, but you'll stick out too much if anyone probes too long. It'll be fine."

Ark couldn't say anything back. He couldn't go changing the plan as he wanted; they arranged it like so for a reason. He sighed and decided to defer. "Alright."

They sat in an awkward and tense silence. Ark didn't know what to say, but he felt guilty, that he had soiled the atmosphere by stepping on a landmine. He was hungry and wanted to eat more, but didn't really want to. Still, he should, it would be discourteous not to.

He decided to try the soup. He brought the container to his mouth and took a sip, instantly, his eyes lit up. It was the right temperature, and the spicy and sweet mix made for an extremely comforting feeling, a feeling of being satiated. Ark took another gulp, and quickly set the container down. He started coughing desperately, and grabbed for water. Some of the spice from the soup had gotten caught in the back of his throat.

"Too spicy?" Kinesis taunted before laughing.

Flustered with the teasing, Ark choked out at, 'It's not!! It--"

"It's okay Ark, it gets the best of us :)" Kinesis was still snickering.

That answer didn't appease Ark. He was still annoyed, and changed the subject, "So you're originally from FriendStory? What'd you think about Maple World when you first came?"

"It was... Different. You're in Seoul. It's different from Maple World or Grandis. You know, no daily monster hunting or levels"

"Yeah."

"That kind of thing we only heard of in stories. There were talking dogs, people who could turn into animals, monsters, wizards, archers, magic! Everything that was fiction was real. It was wild. On top of that, I had to get used to my newfound powers." His voice got a little quieter, "...I still do, actually..." He slid his PSY-limiter to his fingertips, but stopped before it left his hand. "I need to get stronger, then, there will never be a 'next time.'" The words of the Black Mage replayed in his mind. "One day, I'll be able to take off this limiter." His voice was stern and determined. He brought the PSY-limiter back to his wrist, and looked dissatisfied doing so.

_I can relate to that..._ "The transition must've been hard, huh?"

"It was chaotic... But I had Yuna, Jay, and the people of Maple World to support me." With tenderness in his voice, "Everyone was helpful. We were from different worlds, but the willingness of everyone to cooperate, seeing the people of Maple World, it made me realize that they were people just like is. Trying to survive, live, and thrive."

_So he feels the same. Kinesis is actually pretty relatable._ Ark thought. He was relieved to hear that his sentiments were shared.

"Even when the world was breaking apart, I couldn't just leave them alone. Before I knew it, Maple World became as important to me as FriendStory. It's like a second home to me." Kinesis took a pause after that, recollecting his thoughts after admitting all these things to Ark. _It's been a short time, but so much has happened. I can't believe it._ He thought about how he should be nicer to Yuna and Jay. _If only I could be this open and honest with them too._

"Oh." A thought came to Kinesis, "Of all the things in Maple World, there's just some food I can't get used to... It doesn't taste bad, but, I'd rather just not eat it." He was smiling, but there was some history, something in his expression that may have suggested he felt otherwise.

"Like what? I think Maple World has a lot of tasty food."

"Evil eye tail soup." Kinesis smiled a plastic smile. "It doesn't taste bad, I just prefer Seoul food. Nothing beats Seoul food."

"It's pretty good." Ark agreed as he finished the last of the food.

"So, what about you? What did you think about when you came to Maple World?"

"The same as you, really. I was alone when I first started my adventure, but I'm not alone anymore. Athena Pierce was really helpful, and so was Kaiser and Angelic Buster. At first, I thought that Maple World was peaceful, but as I started helping out and learning more, I felt like there was a looming danger. It was a relief to me when I found out about the Maple Alliance. That's what I'm thinking about Seoul now, but I hope I'm wrong about the danger part. It feels really peaceful, but I can't be certain of that. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to FriendStory either."

"That's what we're here for. If anything happens, we'll be there to stop it."

Ark didn't say anything to that, but smiled. He asked, "Hey, I've been wondering for the whole night now, do you guys not have stars?"

"Huh?"

Ark pointed toward the sky, "There are no stars!! I only see a moon."

"No, we definitely do have stars."

"What???" Ark had a dubious look on his face. He looked up and squinted his eyes. "I don't see anything. Are they just really small or far or something?"

_What a dork._ Kinesis tried not to laugh. "You can't see them because of the light pollution."

"Light pollution?"

"Seoul has a lot of artificial lights, all the glowing signs and lamp posts drown out the natural light of the stars and things in the sky. They're the reason why you can't see them anymore."

_So, like in the day time when it's hard to see the light remnants from people's wings._ The connection clicked for Ark._ "_That makes so much sense!! Wow, I was so sad for you guys. I love looking at the stars in the night sky, I thought you were missing out."

"Maybe we are. I don't see the stars very often in Seoul."

"What does it look like when you can see it?"

"It looks like Maple World's sky, though the constellations are different."

"Not like Grandis? You don't see planets, satellites, or anything else up close?"

"No, that surprised me when I went to Grandis."

"Ah... I was thinking this, but Grandis and FriendStory feel so different from each other. It's like Maple World is the mix between the two."

"FriendStory and Maple World have a lot of similarities, but I can't say much about Grandis because I haven't been to many places there."

"Right, no place quite like Grandis... I love looking at the night sky, because who would've thought that I'd as far as two different worlds. It's always nice to explore new places and take in the environment, but, I miss Grandis. I miss waking up and seeing the other planets, asteroids and stars so close. The feeling of the air, the... people. It's not... what I thought it was... But..." His voice gradually became dejected, "I can't help but miss it... It's where I grew up. It's home."

Looking at Kinesis as he said these things, Ark saw that Kinesis' face was overcome with concern and uncertainty. _Am I making him uncomfortable? I should talk about something else._ He felt guilty.

"You know, when I first came to Maple World, I was really surprised at all the different foods. Back at home, I didn't really eat a lot of variety of foods. The diet back at home, for people like me, at least, was mainly plant based. It doesn't taste as good as the stuff in Maple World or FriendStory, but it was filling, and that's what mattered. Though... I did get to some things thanks to my" Ark had trouble getting the world out "-- friend."

He stopped speaking for a second to compose himself, before continuing, "When I came to Maple World, I had a lot of issues controlling myself. I used to buy everything on the menu because I wanted to eat everything. You can get so many things here! Cakes, bread, eggs, all kinds of meat! Gods, I love eating meat so much. I think it's because I didn't get it often as a child; it was a luxury for me. Now I can eat it anytime I want! I went broke soooooooo many times." He started laughing, "But!! I'm smarter now!" He said with pride. His ears were all perked up and his face was genuinely proud. "I only buy what I know I can eat! I don't go in the red anymore! I don't like everything I eat, but I'm grateful that I had the chance to try them."

Ark was laughing so much, but when he saw that Kinesis wasn't laughing, he started to feel alienated, like he did something wrong, again. It's a funny story, why isn't he laughing?

Kinesis' mouth was agape. "I -- I - _dude_" He was at a loss for words. "If you wanted more, you could've said something. What do you want? Tell me now."

"What? No it's fine --"

"Speak less. Tell me what you want."

'It's fine, really."

"Speak less." Kinesis started getting up to walk back to the food truck.

"Kinesis." Ark was about to get up, but felt a force weighing him down, presumably by Kinesis' doing.

"Speak less. Stay there. Tell me what you want or I'll buy the entire menu."

_That sounds pretty good, actually..._ But Ark couldn't let Kinesis pay that for him. He had no choice but to concede. "Rice cake soup. It was my favorite thing. Wait, let me pay for it. "

"Speak less." Kinesis gave a finger gun and went to purchase it.

He came back and placed the soup in front of Ark. There were new items that he hadn't tried before, and there were also skewers and another corn dog.

_He didn't buy the whole menu, did he? I can't even finish that._ "I only asked for the rice cake soup. I can't eat all that."

Kinesis looked at Ark and smiled. 'I'm not eating it. If you don't, it's just going to sit there and get cold. And that's fine. It's okay to throw out what you can't eat. We can always pack it up for later too."

Kinesis is well meaning, but _so cheeky._ Ark would accept this, but he would return the favor someday. "Thanks." He was pouting, but was also suppressing the urge to smile. It was pretty obvious.

They spent the rest of the time talking more about their experience traveling to Maple World and FriendStory/Grandis, with Ark occasionally trying to get Kinesis to eat, but to no avail.

Since then, whenever Kinesis knew he'd talk to Ark, he'd bring a snack or a meal. When the Grandis Crew was present, he'd have to bring extra, after Ho Young and Cadena saw him bringing food for Ark, then asking, 'What about us?" as a joke.

**Author's Note:**

> The kind of a talk with someone you don't know too well or aren't close with. A serene scene. A large degree of trust, somehow. Judgement nonexistent. Sharing feelings and vulnerabilities you haven't shared to people you really should. A free feeling, pleasant experience. Maybe you get closer, maybe you return to something just a little more than strangers. The end result is always an understanding. Something persistent through time, low maintenance, the kind of 'We'll always be chill" type thing, even if years or a lifetime passes.
> 
> I hope it feels like a real, intimate conversation; that kind of an interaction.
> 
> Late night writing(s). I AM SO SENTIMENTAL AS I WRITE THIS. I just -- (ノД`)・゜・。So many feelings, but most of them good.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this!!


End file.
